Stephanie Meyer on Twilight

The Twilight novels became a lucrative phenomenon for author Stephanie Meyer. While sales of the movie rights were inevitable, it's always daunting for creative artists to imagine their work in others' hands.

Author Sources Twilight

"I lost a few nights of sleep over it," said Meyer. "The two sides were: more adaptations than not turn out badly. There are a few that are amazing, every now and then, but most of the time its not a good thing. Then on the other side, I saw the book very visually when I was writing it, and just to see one scene of it on the big screen, that was the lure. I didn't care about anyone else going to see it. This is about me alone in the theater, getting to see it on the screen, and having to be real. That's what swayed me."

She was involved with preproduction, so she has it on good authority that they're getting it right. "I have not seen the whole thing yet, but from the script and from the day that I got on the set, the goal was to make it as close to the book as possible given the time constraints of the film."

The visual inspiration Meyer mentioned was actually her own internal visions. "I was not planning to write, I had no aspirations to be a writer, and I had this really fantastic dream. I wrote it down so I wouldn't forget it, and then the one day I was hooked on writing, to be able to take this dream and make it concrete and real, I could go back and visit it, I was hooked."

Leave it to Hollywood's visual effects artists to bring literal dreams to life. "I've seen some, about 15 minutes total. I mean obviously there are going to be a little differences, but some of it really is nailed."

Now four books into the series, Meyer is going on instinct. "When I was writing at the time, I was not writing this for anyone ever to see. Even my husband didn't know what I was doing, so I was just having fun. If you could sit there and create your own little world, it was just as I was going, 'What if she could see the future? Well, that would rock" and it goes in. 'What would happen if they played baseball? Oooh.' It was just pure fun."

The phenomenon her books became only hits Meyer at specific times, like when she came to San Diego Comic Con for the film's fan panel. "It's a very strange and surreal thing. Most mornings, I get up and don't think about it at all, and then I come someplace like here, and I'm not allowed to walk in the front doors. Its just weird. It's hard for me. I have a very normal life, and so when I have to step out of that and realize that I have all these readers and all this excitement, it's weird. It's great, but it's really strange."

Perhaps the Meyer children should get ready to experience it too. "I don't know if they're old enough to use that. My oldest is eleven and I have an eight-year-old and a six-year-old. [The oldest] is getting there. He's right on the cusp of being able to say to some pretty little 11-year-old girl, 'Hey there, want a signed book?'"